Clutch fluid replacement Sv1000

[WarlockNZ]

Afternoon oh great givers of knowledge.

Seeing as the Clutch fluid is turning brown, I think it's time to replace it.

Just a couple of questions.

1 . Dot 4 glycol fluid ..

is this just plain old brake fluid ??
does brake fluid come in other things other than glycol brake fluid? and if so is it listed on the bottle?

2. How much do I need to buy??

The service manual doesn't mention how much the bike needs (unlike oil) .. will two ltr's be enough or will it need more ??? (factoring in that it's a full replacement).

3. What the best way to drain the fluid??

Yes yes ... just open the plug and let it drain i know ... but, if you don't ask the question, you don't find out any tricks now do you??

4. Bleeding the clutch.

Just like the brakes yes ???? .. not rocket science

I think that pretty much covers it, unless someone can think of something I've missed??

Cheers

[cs363]

1. Yes - conventional brake fluid is glycol based. There are some that are silicone based but these are rare and expensive. Just go to Supercheap or wherever and get a bottle (600ml) of Castrol Super Response DOT 4 (silver bottle)

2. See above

3. See 4

4. Yes (If lots of crud in M/Cyl flush old fluid out with Methylated spirits as this won't damage the seals and will also absorb any water. Then fill and bleed with fresh brake fluid. A vacuum bleeder is quite helpful if you have one or access to one.

[WarlockNZ]

excellent ... thanks very much

[cs363]

Pleased to help

[WarlockNZ]

just to clarify ... 600ml for a full replace will actually do it ???

[Max Preload]

just to clarify ... 600ml for a full replace will actually do it ???

Plenty if you do it right.

[imdying]

Seeing as the Clutch fluid is turning brown, I think it's time to replace it.

It'll do it again in about a week, all SV1Ks do it.

is this just plain old brake fluid ??

Yep, any DOT 4 is fine.

How much do I need to buy??

500ml will be heaps.

3. What the best way to drain the fluid??

Don't, just bleed the new stuff through.

Just like the brakes yes ???? .. not rocket science

Yes, but even easier, you'd be hard pressed to mess this job up.


Do not put anything into your system but brake fluid, there's no need, and you cannot be sure that you'll remove all of the contaminant that you're putting in (anything you put in other than brake fluid is a contaminant). If a system looks as though it has sludge build up, then strip and clean it correctly.

[vifferman]

Yeah, what imdying said. Clutch fluid goes brown really quickly - I think part of it is more air gets in at the m/c end and slave cylinder end than for brakes.
You'll find when bleeding it that it's a bit different to bleeding brakes, as there's less pressure with the lever pulled in, so it feels like you're not getting anywhere. Just ignore that - it's working OK.
You can flush the old fluid through fairly quickly by loosening the banjo at the bottom end, but it doesn't take long to do anyway, so don't worry too much.
Unlike the brakes, having discoloured fluid doesn't make much difference to the performance of the clutch, as you've got less pressure, and no heat to make the moisture form bubbles, so don't worry too much about it. Maybe it's the lack of heat that's partly responsible for the discolouration.

[imdying]

There's been a bit of debate on the SV1k forums, but no definitive answer. Rest assured that all SV1ks discolour their clutch fluid in record time. I'm picking that the discolouration is from the break down of the hoses and clutch slave piston seal. It's minor, but sufficient to discolour the fluid... potentially this is related to heat from the motor, but I'm not convinced yet.

It's a shitty clutch feel on those bikes anyway... very abrubt. Wouldn't recommend the SV to less confident/experienced riders for that reason alone... get baited into racing someone from a standing start, and it's very easy to launch the front wheel skyward unexpectedly.

To convert them to cable is pretty trivial, but I put a nice little billet reservoir on from vandriver, so not going to do that to mine

[cs363]

The reason the fluid changes colour is that is has abosrbed water. It is designed to do this as an indicator that a fluid change is required.
You can read more about brake fluid here: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=81031

[imdying]

Not in this particular case. We have a meter for analysing the moisture content in brake fluid, and it shows no notable moisture contamination. The next analysis step is outside of my testing toys, and I don't consider it important enough to have the lab analyse it (as that would cost me money). But yep, typically you would be correct. Some of the guys with braided lines have reported more time between discolouration, and given that you can see the particulates in the fluid, it seems likely that the line is breaking down. I'll crimp up a braided line one day to replace mine, when I do that, I'll chop this one open for a look.

[cs363]

Not in this particular case. We have a meter for analysing the moisture content in brake fluid, and it shows no notable moisture contamination. The next analysis step is outside of my testing toys, and I don't consider it important enough to have the lab analyse it (as that would cost me money). But yep, typically you would be correct. Some of the guys with braided lines have reported more time between discolouration, and given that you can see the particulates in the fluid, it seems likely that the line is breaking down. I'll crimp up a braided line one day to replace mine, when I do that, I'll chop this one open for a look.

Interesting - and yes, the colour change/water contamination is a generalisation that is more often than not correct, though as you've obviously had the fancy toys out in this case other factors must be in play. I would have thought that assuming the slave cylinder is given to heat soak (I'm not familiar with its placement on the SV) water contamination would have been likely due condensation from the fluid heating and cooling.
But perhaps its from dirt contamination from poor sealing or as you suggest from the line breaking down (again accellerated by engine heat).
Whatever the case it would seem that clutch fluid flush and replenishment on a regular basis would be good advice for an SV owner.

[imdying]

Now if we knew someone who worked in a lab that could test this to find out what the 'junk' is, that would be handy... normally we'd outsource this, and almost always that's only when an insurance company (or the police) want to know if the condition of brake fluid (we can test for moisture content, but our results aren't 'certifiable', i.e. stand up in court material) in a car was attributal in an accident... of course, that ain't cheap, more expensive than my curiousity allows me to spend at least

[Ixion]

There is a shit load of info about this on Spankme's SV forum. Basically, all the SV1Ks do it, and trying to do anything about it seems to cause more grief than it solves.

[WarlockNZ]

Well ... the manual recommends a replacement of the fluid every two years and the lines at 4.

seeing as i've had it for 12 months, i might as well change the fluid, i'll change the lines to braided when i can find some